Charles and St. Paul Streets Okay

Baltimore City Transportation Director William Johnson discussing the results of sonar tests conducted on North Charles and St. Paul Streets around the area of the street collapse on East 26th Street.

Credit P. Kenneth Burns / WYPR

Engineers hired by Baltimore City officials found there were no major defects beneath Charles and St. Paul Streets near 26th Street after parts of that street collapsed onto CSX tracks.

Results of sonar tests were released Wednesday afternoon by the city Department of Transportation.

Transportation Director William Johnson said the tests discovered minor anomalies on North Charles Street at 26th Street. He described them as shallow pooling of water below the street surface.

“It’s probably going to be a future pothole unless the water gets out of there before it freezes and thaws,” said Johnson.

The engineers didn’t conduct tests on East 26th Street because a major reconstruction effort is under way.

“We have a team of engineers that have been looking at the conditions [on East 26th Street]; we’ve set up survey crews to monitor any motion that might take place,” Johnson added.

A temporary barrier is being installed to stabilize the ground north of the site of the landslide. The barrier is expected to be up in the next couple of weeks. The city is still holding to the timeline of returning residents to their homes in the next 40 days.